Synopsis On 22January 1997 the fishing vessel SCOTIA GOLD departed Digby, Nova Scotia, for Deer Island, New Brunswick. While crossing the Bay of Fundy in rough weather, the vessel began to take on water which both the vessel's main bilge pump, and the portable de-watering pump carried on board, failed to pump out. A Canadian Coast Guard Cutter, the CUMELLA, and a Coast Guard helicopter were dispatched to the scene. The helicopter supplied a portable de-watering pump made by the same manufacturer as the vessel's portable pump; it also failed. The CUMELLA escorted the SCOTIA GOLD to Dipper Harbour, New Brunswick, where the situation was stabilized and the flood water pumped out. The Board determined that the SCOTIA GOLD took on water through poorly secured deck hatches. Displaced cover plates in the fish hold permitted ice slurry to enter the shaft tunnel/drain well, block the suction line to the main bilge pump and render the pump ineffective. As a result of previously undetected corrosion or damage, the portable de-watering pumps failed to operate. The portable pumps were not designed for the type of marine operation in which they were employed. 1.0 Factual Information 1.1 Particulars of the Vessel 1.1.1 Description of the Vessel The SCOTIA GOLD is a wooden scallop dragger of closed-deck construction with accommodation forward, a wheel-house, engine-room, fish hold and steering gear. The bulkhead between the fish hold and the engine-room is not watertight. 1.2 History of the Voyage The SCOTIA GOLD departed Digby on 22 January 1997 at 0930, with a crew of three, bound for Fairhaven, Deer Island. The vessel had taken on four tonnes of ice prior to departure. The skipper planned to stay the night in Fairhaven and begin fishing the next day. At about 1500, while crossing the Bay of Fundy, the skipper became aware of excess water in the engine-room. The vessel's main-engine-driven bilge pump was running but could not pump out the vessel; the vessel's portable, gasoline-powered Honda de-watering pump did not start. The skipper called the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) for assistance while the crew attempted to repair the portable pump. The pull-start cord was jammed and the recoil mechanism had to be removed to free it. The gasoline motor eventually started and ran, but the pump itself did not work. In response to the call for assistance, the CCG dispatched a helicopter from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and a rescue vessel from Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. CCG helicopter 361 departed Yarmouth at 1600 and arrived on the scene at 1640. The helicopter lowered a portable gasoline-powered Honda de-watering pump assembly to the SCOTIA GOLD. When attempts were made to start the pump motor, the pull-start cord jammed in its housing. The recoil starting mechanism was removed, repaired and replaced. The gasoline motor then started, but the unit failed to pump water. Despite the crew's efforts, the pump did not remove any water from the vessel. The Canadian Coast Guard Cutter (CCGC) CUMELLA arrived on scene at 1747 and escorted the SCOTIA GOLD to Dipper Harbour. At 1913, when both vessels were safely secured in Dipper Harbour, the engineer from the CUMELLA boarded the SCOTIA GOLD. Employing the Honda portable de-watering unit provided by the CCG helicopter, he attempted to pump out the water but was also unsuccessful. The CUMELLA was equipped with a portable Search and Rescue (SAR)-approved de-watering pump made by another manufacturer. When used on board the SCOTIA GOLD, this unit started without difficulty and the flood water was pumped from the vessel. 1.3 Vessel Secured in Dipper Harbour While the vessel was alongside in Dipper Harbour, the following observations were made: The portable cover plates over the shaft tunnel/drain well in the fish hold were not set in place. Crushed ice, which had been loaded in the fish hold prior to departure, had fallen down past the displaced cover plates into the drain well and blocked the bilge suction line. A seawater pump used for washing down is located in the engine-room. The discharge piping from this pump extends to the weather deck at the after wheel-house bulkhead where a hose was usually connected to the pipe. The practice was to run this pump continuously while at sea and to direct the seawater overboard during those times when it was not required for fish handling or washing down. The hose was missing. Reportedly, it was washed overboard after it became disconnected during the voyage. Securing dogs to the deck hatches were found to be functional but the hatches were improperly secured. This allowed water shipped on deck and water from the wash-down pump to drain into the fish hold and through to the engine-room. The crew of the CUMELLA repacked the helicopter-supplied Honda pump unit into its container for delivery back to the CCG repair depot. It was discovered at this time that the container had been designed for a different pump assembly made by another manufacturer. 1.4 Injuries to Persons 1.5 Damage 1.5.1 Damage to the SCOTIA GOLD Portable Honda De-watering Pump The portable Honda pump, carried as ship's equipment onboard the SCOTIA GOLD, was dismantled ashore soon after the occurrence. The interior of the aluminium pump casing and steel impeller parts were found to be so heavily corroded that the pump could not work. (See Appendix A, Photo 2.) 1.5.2 Damage to the CCG Helicopter-supplied Portable Honda De-watering Pump The portable Honda pump supplied to the SCOTIA GOLD by CCG helicopter 361 had a fractured coupling flange at the pump's suction flap valve, which rendered the pump inoperative. (See Appendix A, Photo 4.) 1.6 Certification 1.6.1 Vessel The vessel was not required by regulation to carry a properly maintained auxiliary pump designed to operate in a marine environment. The SCOTIA GOLD was certificated and equipped in accordance with existing regulations and was authorized to carry a maximum crew of five persons, including the master. 1.6.2 Personnel The skipper held a Fishing Master Class 3 certificate. The remainder of the crew was not certificated, nor was this a requirement under existing regulations. 1.7 Personnel History 1.7.1 Skipper The skipper of the SCOTIA GOLD had approximately 16 years' fishing experience. He had newly taken command of the vessel. 1.8 Weather Information 1.8.1 Weather as Reported by Rescue Coordination Centre, Halifax The weather reported by the Rescue Coordination Centre at the time of the occurrence was southwesterly winds at 35 knots, wave height of 4 metres and visibility of 2.5 nautical miles. 1.8.2 Weather as Reported by the Skipper of the SCOTIA GOLD The weather reported by the skipper of the SCOTIA GOLD was winds southwesterly at 45 knots, wave height of four metres and poor visibility. 1.9 Canadian Coast Guard 1.9.1 CCG Helicopter 361 The CCG provides a Yarmouth-based helicopter, as a secondary SAR resource. It is equipped with a hoist and is capable of delivering portable de-watering pumps to vessels that are taking on water. The method of delivery is either to drop the watertight drum containing the pump unit from the helicopter or to lower the assembly at a controlled rate. An attached long line is guided to the distressed vessel and used to retrieve the floating drum from the sea. On this mission, the drum container was lowered into the water, and the SCOTIA GOLD retrieved it using the attached line. 1.9.2 CCG Helicopter-supplied Honda De-watering Pump The CCG de-watering pump unit lowered to the SCOTIA GOLD was similar to the ship's own portable Honda unit, which had failed earlier. After the crew overcame mechanical problems and started the CCG Honda pump's gasoline motor, the pump did not work. The pump was later dismantled, and the interior was found to be in the initial stages of corrosion. The Honda pump consists of impeller parts manufactured from steel and a pump body of aluminium alloy. A warning in the Honda pump owner's manual cautions to avoid pump corrosion, never pump sea water. The CCG pump unit had been packaged for SAR using a drum container originally designed for a portable pump unit made by another manufacturer. As purchased from the dealer, the Honda pump unit will not fit into the mismatched aluminium drum container. This unit had been adapted to fit the drum container by a local industrial equipment rental company. The pump's carrying frame had been shortened by sawing off and reshaping one end. Fitting of the adapted pump unit into the container forced the flanged suction pipe hard against the inside of the container wall. (See Appendix A, Photo 5.) Service history of the helicopter-supplied Honda de-watering pump was not recorded in the maintenance records received from the CCG. There were no records of formal approval by a marine authority of the Honda de-watering pumps for use on ships. 1.9.3 CCGC CUMELLA-supplied SAR-approved De-watering Pump The CCG also uses a de-watering pump manufactured by Briggs Stratton/Ohler. This unit is an earlier generation in a series of portable de-watering pumps being phased out by the CCG in favour of the Honda unit. The Briggs Stratton/Ohler or latest /Scot series of pump assemblies have been approved by the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and Canada's Department of National Defence (DND). Their primary purpose is for SAR use as air-droppable assemblies or for ship-to-ship delivery to discharge fresh or salt water from vessels in danger of sinking. Briggs Stratton-type portable pump assemblies, such as that carried on the CUMELLA, are referred to herein as SAR-approved. (See Appendix A, Photo 6.) According to records received from the CCG, the SAR-approved pump successfully used by the engineer of the CUMELLA to pump out the SCOTIA GOLD had been serviced on 04 June 1996. 1.9.4 Related Incidents Involving the CCGC HOWE POINT and the CCGC SOURIS In a similar incident off Prince Edward Island on 20 August 1997, the CCGC HOWE POINT was taking on water but was unable to start the portable Honda de-watering pump on board. Fortunately, the CCGC SOURIS was close by and able to assist. Records received from the CCG indicate that three and a half years had elapsed since that unit had last been checked by a CCG depot (02 March 1994). It was also reported that the Honda de-watering pump carried on the fast rescue craft assigned to the SOURIS was removed from its SAR container and it, too, failed to start. Service records for that pump were unavailable. The carburettors of the Honda pumps were overhauled by a crew member and both units subsequently started. 1.9.5 CCG Maintenance of SAR De-watering Pumps The CCG is responsible for the maintenance of its SAR de-watering pump assemblies. At the time of the occurrence, the CCG depots within the Maritimes region were required to service this emergency equipment, maintain records and arrange to have the reconditioned pump assemblies re-allocated to the various CCG stations, vessels and helicopters as necessary. The CCG Rescue, Safety and Environmental Response (RSER) reported that all pumps are tested at the beginning of every work period after each crew change (i.e., every one to three weeks maximum). RSER also reported that every region is satisfied with the Honda portable pumps and has attested to their reliability and durability. Two repair depots in the Maritimes were visited and their pump placement and maintenance records were examined. The maintenance facilities were well equipped, but maintenance records were found to be inadequate, incomplete, and in some cases, non-existent. According to available records, some of the field-allocated pumps were long overdue for return to their respective depots. No follow-up program was found to be in place to ensure an effective rotation cycle, i.e., notices were not sent to unit supervisors to inform them when servicing of the pump assemblies was overdue. According to the information received from the two repair depots at the time, SAR pumps were tested, sealed in drums and either put on the shelf or allocated to SAR field units as required. If units were deployed in an emergency, it was the field supervisor's responsibility to return the pump assembly to the depot for servicing immediately after use. If they were not deployed, it was the field supervisor's responsibility to return the pump assemblies to the depot every 12 months. In practice, some of the pump units remained sealed in their respective drums for much longer periods. One of the CCG depots visited did not keep Honda pumps in its inventory as it was felt that the units, being prone to corrosion by seawater, were not suitable for marine use. At the time of this occurrence, no standard was found to exist within the individual CCG depots or between the various depots with respect to record-keeping procedures and inventory control. 1.9.6 CCG Decision to Replace Briggs Stratton/Ohler Pumps The RSER reported that the SAR-approved Briggs Stratton portable pumps have been replaced gradually with Honda pumps because of their greater reliability, simpler operational and maintenance procedures, and the availability of spare parts. There is no indication that a formal specification or a change of use proposal was drafted prior to the decision to replace the SAR-approved Briggs Stratton/Ohler de-watering pumps with Honda units. Thus far, it has not been determined by what authority the Honda assembly found its way into the system, nor whether any particular authority was indeed required. The Honda pump assemblies cost considerably less than the SAR-approved models presently in use by DND and the USCG. The CCG SAR Branch supports the ongoing use of Honda portable pumps. 1.10 Transport Canada Marine Safety Surveyors' Requirements There are occasions when Transport Canada (TC) Marine Safety surveyors in the Maritimes region, upon request for certification of a small fishing vessel such as the SCOTIA GOLD, may call for or require the carriage of a portable de-watering pump over and above all other regulatory requirements, due consideration being given to the vessel's age, the nature of the intended voyages and the watertight/weathertight integrity of hatch coamings, bulkheads, closing appliances, etc. The SCOTIA GOLD was equipped accordingly, but the shipboard portable Honda pump had no drum container protection from the elements as provided in a SAR pump assembly. The bare unit was stowed in a compartment on the weather deck. (See Appendix A, Photo 3.) 1.11 Honda Canada Honda Canada stipulates that the company's portable gasoline-driven de-watering pumps, as selected for SAR use by the CCG, are intended to be used as economical drainage pumps for most general purpose water pumping applications. Warnings respecting improper usages which affect the safe operation of these units are specified in Honda manuals. In particular, the owner's manual cautions to avoid pump corrosion, never pump sea water. Honda Canada also added that it does not manufacture a pump assembly specifically suitable to a salt water environment.